Monday, April 29, 2013

I'm starting to get a lot of requests for advanced review copies (ARCs) for Scorched which is super exciting! Problem is: I don't personally have any review copies to give out. They're all at Sourcebooks HQ, guarded carefully by a hungry dragon.

OK I'm not entirely sure that last part is true. But it IS true that Sourcebooks has all the ARCs. And you have to bribe/beg/plead/offer your first born child THEM not me if you want to score a review copy.

The request can be made to: publicity@sourcebooks.com.

See something missing here? Someone actually STOLE the last Scorched ARC from the display at TLA this past week. Don't worry - we sent the dragons after them. They'll soon repent for their crimes...

That said, there are a few events coming up where I will be signing ARCs and that's another way to get yourself a copy. I did two in the last two weekends and will be dong two more in June. The first is at BEA (The Book Expo of America) in NYC Friday May 31st at 3pm. The second is ALA (The American Library Association) conference in Chicago at the end of June. Not sure signing date/time for that one yet, but I'll post it when I have it. A lot of bloggers go to these events and it's a great way to score ARCs from all sorts of authors.

Another question I get: will it be on Netgalley. The answer is...yes...but not as a free-for-all. You'll have to put in a request once it's up and Sourcebooks will make the final decision. (Again, I just write the books. And sign them when they ask me to.) My suggestion? Make sure your Netgalley profile is up to date and comprehensive. So you look like the professional blogger you are rather than someone just out to read a free book. :)

In the meantime, to hold you over, Sourcebooks has posted a link to the first FOUR chapters of Scorched. So go here for an extended sneak peek!

Thanks all! I can't wait until September--when we release dragons on the world!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

See that sign above? That's sort of how life has been feeling lately! Not that the Blood Coven vampires were ever sparkly, but now that the series has ended, vampires have definitely taken a back seat to all things dragon. But don't worry - I still love the fanged ones. But since Rayne and Sunny have had their happily ever after, it's time to move on.

(As you can see, even little Avalon is learning about the care and feeding of dragons!)

And how to take them down--if need be!

This past week I attended the Texas Library Association's annual convention in Fort Worth. There, I got a chance to meet some amazing librarians and bloggers and teachers and high school students and talk dragons! It turns out, I am not alone in my love for dragons. In fact, these scaly reptiles seem pretty universally adored by all. Which makes me very, very happy!

Happy enough to wear extremely cool, but extremely uncomfortable shoes of fire to the "Guys Read" party I went to on Weds night -- to kick off the whole event.

Notice my publicist's sensible purple Converse sneakers in the background. She is obviously way smarter than me. And probably sporting fewer blisters.

I also had a really cool dragon dress that I had made from a seller on Etsy. And though I got photographed in it a bunch of times at the party, I stupidly didn't take a single photo myself. So you'll just have to imagine the awesome until another photo pops up.

One of the great things about conventions (in my opinion) is the breakfasts. At home, breakfast is Fiber One cereal. On the road: waffles! And the company of good writer and blogger friends!! What started with a single blogger inviting me to breakfast (the lovely Kari Olson) ended up with a big group! (More even than the picture shows!)

Since my signing wasn't until Friday, I actually spent Thursday signing Blood Coven booths at the Festivals of Texas booth. However, it seems, some blogger/librarians couldn't wait (ahem: Jen Bigheart) and scored an early copy of the Scorched ARC.

On Friday, I hunkered down at the Sourcebooks booth at 11am sharp to start signing books. The line was already so long by that point that convention hall security was yelling at the Sourcebooks peeps. "If you don't have that line cleared in 5 minutes..." I had to sign fast!! Also, note the fireballs. I did not dare eat a single one. The librarians were way braver than me!

At the end of the signing it was picture time! Here's my lovely blue-haired cohort and fellow author girl Krissi Dallas and the lovely Girls in the Stacks blogger/librarian Stacy Vandever Wells.

In addition to my official duties I got to hang out with a ton of out-of-town author friends. Ally Carter, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Simone Elkeles. And my two favorite troublemakers: Lindsay Cummings and Tori Scott.

This picture does not even begin to do the TT4L madness justice. But suffice to say it was awesomesauce.

But the best part of all was Friday night. The event was TT4L. I'm not exactly sure what it stands for but what it felt like was a running of the bulls -- where a bunch of excited teens rushed in and starting grabbing books from a couple dozen authors. The books were free and the teens took full advantage, ending up with literally a large box filled to the brim with autographed books. Some not yet released like Scorched. It was so much fun to meet them all and see how excited they were about Scorched. I would say I got about 50 percent guys and 50 percent girls. Which is unusual for me - as I've done paranormal romance for so long. But I love the fact that this book will appeal to both genders!

I came back Saturday morning and promptly fell sick. Trying to recover now - since on Weds I head to Kansas City for the Romantic Times Convention. So much fun to be had, so little time.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Yesterday I headed down to San Antonio for the VERY FIRST EVER signing of Scorched. Well, Scorched ARCs that is, which are basically advanced copies of the book that are given out to teachers, librarians, bloggers, and booksellers to help get them excited about September's release. I signed about 50 books to some awesome teachers -- some of which have promised to let their students get a peek of the advanced copy. So hopefully YOUR teacher was amongst them!

As you can see, the Sourcebooks booth was all decked out!

And who got the VERY FIRST EVER signed Scorched ARC? Like ever in the world? Why the lovely, lovely Sylvia Bull, San Antonio educator and all around awesome reader girl. I met Sylvia up at the Fresh Fiction Readers and Ritas event a couple years back and if anyone deserves the honor of being first in line, she does! (Even if she cheated and showed up early for her copy! haha)

Here's me signing her book!

By the way - Sourcebooks did an Ah-Maz-Ing job on the ARCs themselves. They're so nice they could be actual books, sold in bookstores. Of course the real thing will be in hardcover. But other than that, you can hardly tell.

NEXT STOP? Texas Library Association. I'll be there Weds, Thurs, and Friday. On Thursday I'll be signing at the Festivals of Texas booth - and will have Blood Coven and Gamer Girl books for sale. On Friday there will be a Scorched ARC giveaway at the Sourcebooks booth at 11am. (Come promptly - we ran out early at IRA!) On Friday night I'll be chatting with Texas teens at the TT4L event and giving out even MORE copies!

Friday, April 12, 2013

It's been an exciting week finally getting a chance to reveal the cover of my September dragon book SCORCHED. And I'm thrilled to know how many people LURVE the cover as much as I do! I'm pretty sure this is my favorite cover of all time and I'm so getting a huge poster to hang in my office!

I saw a lot of questions and comments during the reveal and thought I'd share some answers here.

1) Is this a series?

Yes. It's a trilogy. The books will be published in hardcover every September. I'm working on the second book now. No title yet.

2) The descriptions sounds like Eragon. Is it anything like Eragon?

About the only thing it shares with Eragon is that both books start with a dragon egg. After that, the similarities pretty much end. Scorched is a contemporary novel, set in present day west Texas, not a fantasy kingdom. There's no swords and sorcery here. Instead there's a huge time travel element to the book (like with the Terminator movies) that plays heavily into the plot.

3) Is it a dystopian?

Nope. It's set in contemporary times. There is an apocalyptic element to the book, but no dystopian society.

4) The girl's holding the dragon's paw pretty protectively. Is there something going on between them?

Um, no. Well, not in that way! Think of the dragon as a very big Labrador Retriever and you'll have a better sense of their relationship. There's no shapeshifting element in this series. Dragons are animals, plain and simple. Big, fire-breathing animals.

5) That big guy looks pretty deadly. What's his deal?

Well, I can't tell you that. But I can reveal that the big "guy" is actually a big girl.

6) Who's the artist behind the cover?

Tony Sahara. He's amazing, isn't he? He also did, amongst many other covers, the Eon and Eona covers. So he's no stranger to dragons.

7) Can I get an ARC to review?

There will be ARCs available starting later this month. If you have a blog and want to review, hit up Derry Wilkens, the publicist at Sourcebooks and ask nicely. :)

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

It's the moment I've been waiting to share with you for months now! At long last, the cover reveal for my brand new trilogy, SCORCHED, coming out in hardcover from Sourcebooks on September 3rd.

How do I describe this book? My editor likes to say, "If Anne McCaffrey wrote Terminator." Or a friend of mine described it as "Terminator starring Daenerys" and indeed my agent originally pitched it as "Terminator meets Game of Thrones." It's contemporary, it's fantasy, it's apocalyptic. It's even a little paranormal, I suppose.

The book begins in present day West Texas, at a fading roadside attraction run by sixteen year old Trinity's nutty professor-like Grandpa. Over the years, Grandpa has been collecting some pretty unusual exhibits and so when he presents Trinity with what he calls "The world's last dragon egg", she's not exactly convinced. Not until the museum is invaded by soldiers trying to steal it, along with a strange boy who appears out of nowhere and tells her the world as she knows it will be wiped out by a fiery dragon war--unless they work together to stop it.

Anyway, I don't want to give away any spoiler so I won't say anymore! But here are a few links to check out while you wait for September!

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Welcome all! Happy YA Scavenger Hunt Day! Whether you've come here on the hunt or just stumbled upon the awesomeness -- welcome to the RED TEAM!! And get ready to RUMBLE...er, I mean WIN!!!!

In addition to the chance to win fabulous books from all the authors on the hunt, I will personally be giving away a signed ARC of SCORCHED, the first book in my new dragon series, which doesn't release until SEPTEMBER! You can be one of the first EVER to read it!!

The YA Scavenger Hunt starts today and ends on April 7th at noon. For more details, visit the official YA Scavenger Hunt website. But here's a little primer, in case this is your first stop:

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: You’ll notice that I’ve included my favorite number somewhere in this post. (In RED since we are TEAM RED!) Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the red team, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by April 7th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

(If you get stuck as you are moving through the hunt, click through to this page.)

ARE YOU READY??? Here we go…

First--for those of you coming from other blogs, this is ME!

I'm Mari. I live in Austin, Texas and I write books. You might know me for my Blood Coven Vampire series, an eight book, Buffy'esque tale of two twin sisters, Sunny and Rayne, and their adventures with the undead. The series began with BOYS THAT BITE and ended last September with BLOOD FOREVER. You can learn all about the series here. And if you win this Scavenger Hunt you will a copy of BLOOD COVEN VAMPIRES VOLUME ONE which contains the first two books in the series--or whatever Blood Coven book you so desire.

I also have a brand new series starting this September. It's called SCORCHED and I like to call my "Terminator with Dragons" book. Yeah! We're actually revealing the cover of Scorched for the first time next week! Yay! In the meantime, go mark it TBR on GoodReads. I'll wait.

Shadow of the Mark is the sequel to Carrier of the Mark. And here's the blurb:Megan knew she was destined to be with Adam from the very first moment she saw him and now they are determined to be together. But Megan and Adam are Marked Ones, and a romance between two Marked Ones is strictly forbidden...and could cause worldwide devastation.

So now! On to Leigh's special bonus content. For this Scavenger Hunt only! She has provided us with her own special Shadow of the Mark playlist. So turn up your speakers and check it out! (Don't worry, I'll wait and jam along side you.) When you're done it'll be time to move on to the next stop of the Scavenger Hunt. But not until you enter for a chance to win an ARC of Scorched!

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to join my blog for more updates and chances to win! (You can do so on the sidebar!) And good luck finding MY bonus Blood Coven content on another author's blog. (Hint: It's some pretty awesome artwork from Japan!)

But for now it's time to say goodbye and for you to head over to Kandare Blake's blog! (After you enter the contest below, of course!)